By Thebe Mabanga
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau used the past week and a half to lead a charm offensive and fend off the adverse effect of the United States imposed tariffs.
They used a mixture of trade diplomacy and bare knuckle, technical trade negotiations to achieve their goals.
On Wednesday evening, Ramaphosa addressed the SA-USA Trade and Investment Dialogue, having travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
He emphasised the broad, mutually beneficially nature of trade relations between the United States and South Africa.
“This is a relationship defined not only by diplomacy but by the practical ties of trade, investment and shared innovation,” Ramaphosa said, pointing that the United States is one of SA’s largest trading partners outside of Africa, accounting for 8% of South Africa’s exports, and a leading source of Foreign Direct Investment.
He noted that over
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